Black as a Raven
by VolturiQueen1993
Summary: Isolde, younger sister of Finn and Ravenna, stood aside and watched as her sister ruined kingdom after kingdom. After she helps Snow White escape after being targeted by Ravenna, she meets William while on a journey to help Snow White and Eric, making her torn between loyalty to family and doing what is right. Snow & Eric, William & Isolde. SWATH AU


**Inspired by IoIngridWeaver for the story **_**Long As The Night Will Be**_**.**

**I do not own **_**SWATH**_**. I do own Ravenna and Finn's sister Isolde though.**

**Takes place during and after the film of **_**Snow White and the Huntsman**_**. Some things have been changed. The prologue covers a big chunk of the Huntsman's narration in the beginning of the film.**

* * *

"Are you sure this is wise?" a raven haired girl asked her brother, who had blond hair that was nearly white as he chained her and their sister, a very beautiful woman with long blond hair, as if it had been spun from gold, to the walls of the carriage.

"It is part of the plan. Once the king sees the two of you chained, he will get you out," the man told her as he was finished.

"This is rather uncomfortable, Finn," the raven haired girl replied to him.

Finn shrugged and replied, "I hate to know," and he turned to his golden haired sister. "As always, sister, I wait at the gates until after you killed the king?" Finn asked her.

"Yes, Finn. Just like always," the golden haired woman told him with a smirk.

Finn returned the smirk and hopped out of the prison carriage before locking it shut.

"This is stupid, Ravenna," the raven haired girl whispered to her sister, as the carriage started moving.

"Shush, Isolde," Ravenna chided her. "This is a clever way to get King Magnus's attention. Once he sees this army, he will be in battle, win, and happen upon us, and after I kill him on the wedding night, we will live the life we always have."

"He has got a daughter, you see," Isolde whispered.

"Of course, I know he has," Ravenna replied bluntly before having a look of longing on her face. "I always wanted a child. A daughter I can raise as my own. I may not replace Snow White's mother, but I may give her the mother figure she needs. But I'm afraid, like children are, she might wake up to the sounds of battle and lives lost. Be by her room, if she wakes up, get her back to bed before I show up with two of my men."

Isolde just nodded and turned away. For years, Isolde travelled with her older brother and sister, while her sister married kings, killed them, and took control over their kingdoms and put them in ruin. After Ravenna became bored with the kingdom she was ruining, she and her siblings moved on.

During her siblings ruining of kingdoms, she would occupy herself with a book. Books were her specialty, while blood was Finn's, and beauty Ravenna's. Ravenna and Finn tolerated about the fact that Isolde was a bibliophile and even allowed her to read as much as she does while they ruined kingdom after kingdom.

There were days when Isolde hoped that kings would fall for her instead of her sister, as she was tired of seeing kingdom after kingdom put to ruin by Ravenna's sorcery and oppressiveness, but as Ravenna always told her, "Immense beauty is a weakness to men" and Isolde knew that her sister was right, as she saw king after king bewitched by Ravenna's beauty. Isolde knew she herself was beautiful, but not as beautiful as Ravenna and Isolde always thought that her sister purposely, through her black magic over the centuries, kept her second most beautiful, so Ravenna could be fairest of the land.

Isolde knew there was nothing wrong with being second, but her sister's vanity irked her. She would see her sister talk to a golden mirror, and she would hear her sister ask the mirror _who's the fairest of them all?_ The fact that Ravenna asked the mirror every day annoyed Isolde to the point of isolating herself with a book to read.

Isolde always thought that she was enabling Ravenna and Finn to do their damage on kingdoms. Never, has she had the strength to stop them. She knew how to wield a dagger, something Ravenna taught her, but Isolde knew that if she tried to stop them from what they were doing, she would be killed, and she could not afford that risk.

While Finn and Ravenna had blond hair, Isolde's hair was the color of a raven's wing. Isolde knew that while Finn and Ravenna inherited many traits from their fair haired mother, Isolde mostly took after her father, who had the same color hair as her.

Too many lifetimes and she is supposed to be dead. As a result of Ravenna's black magic, Isolde still had the appearance of an eighteen year old girl.

* * *

Ravenna and Isolde heard the king's army fighting the Dark Army from outside the prison carriage. Ravenna, as always, was using her magic in order to manipulate the outcome of the battle, so that the king will win.

As Isolde expected, the king defeated the Dark Army and now, he and his men were scouring the battle site. Isolde saw Ravenna smirk as they heard footsteps coming towards the prison carriage. Seeing the curtain about to be lifted up, Ravenna turned her face.

A few minutes later, they heard the lock of the prison carriage door being broken and the door opened. Ravenna turned her face away, pretending to be a frightened woman who been through a atrocity. Isolde done the same, knowing that Ravenna wouldn't chide her later about not pretending.

"Fear not, you two will come to no harm from me or my men," Isolde heard King Magnus tell her and Ravenna. "What are your names?"

Ravenna's face turned slowly to King Magnus, trying to see his reaction about her beauty.

"Ravenna, sire," she introduced.

"Isolde, your majesty," Isolde introduced herself also.

Unfortunately, Isolde knew that this was the beginning of another kingdom being ruined.

* * *

Isolde stood in the room where she and Ravenna were getting ready for the wedding. Isolde found it rather hasty of King Magnus to marry her sister just a day after he "Rescued" them from the Dark Army. She knew he was enchanted by Ravenna's beauty, but Isolde knew that even the most attractive of women had unattractive personalities.

But she knew that it was part of the plan to ravage another kingdom.

"You are so beautiful," Isolde heard young Snow White compliment Ravenna as the hand maidens tended to her wedding dress.

"That is kind, child," Ravenna answered back. "Especially when it is said that your face is the true beauty in this kingdom."

Isolde tuned out half of the conversation as she inspected the sleeve work of the bride's maid dress that was made for her by the palace seamstress.

"But I feel that we are bound," she heard her sister tell Snow White as she saw one of the hand maidens braid her hair. "You feel it there? Your heart."

Snow White giggled.

If only that she would know what will happen in hours for time to come.

* * *

Isolde walked in front of her sister as the wedding precession took place. She noticed that beside King Magnus, was Duke Hammond and his son, William, who was just the same age as Snow.

She noticed that the guests looked adoringly at Ravenna, not realizing what will take place hours after the reception.

As Isolde took her place at the bride's side in the altar, she noticed Ravenna looking back at Snow White, who was trailing behind Ravenna, holding the train of her wedding dress.

After Snow smiled at her, Ravenna turned back, looking worried and disturbed.

As Ravenna joined King Magnus at the altar, she took his hand and bowed before it was time for the marriage vows.

Isolde sat in her chambers in the palace, brushing her long black, raven tresses. The wedding reception was rather stressful. Isolde, who was used to keeping to herself, was greeted by nobility and forced into conversations. She escaped the reception as she decided to stay in the garden with Snow White and William. The garden was peaceful then the noisy banquet hall where the reception was taking place.

She was interrupted when she heard something fall in the chambers across from her. The room she was given was across from her sister and King Magnus's chambers. She quietly went to their door to investigate and she stopped.

She saw King Magnus, lying flat on the bed, Ravenna's dagger sticking out of his chest, as Ravenna laid beside him, breathing raggedly.

Ravenna soon stepped out of the bed, and shrugged on a light brown robe as if nothing happened while Isolde stared in shock.

"You know what to do, Isolde," Ravenna told her as she put a crown on her golden head.

Isolde nodded and fled the room and ran to the corridor where Snow White's chambers were located.

It didn't take long for Ravenna to head to the castle gates to let their brother and men in. It took five minutes for the guards of the palace and the remaining wedding guests to realize that they were under siege.

People ran past Snow White's room in panic as Isolde hid to keep herself from view.

Just as Ravenna expected, Isolde saw Snow White, in her nightgown and robe about to leave the bedroom and Isolde came into her view.

"Aunt Isolde, what is happening? Why are people running?" Snow asked her new aunt.

"Oh, don't worry, dear," Isolde replied, smiling at her step-niece as she led her back into her room. "I'm sure everything is fine."

"Are we under siege?" Snow asked Isolde she closed the bedroom door behind them.

"Children shouldn't worry about such things, dear. Go back to sleep and I'll be here to make sure you are alright," Isolde told Snow White softly, who nodded before crawling back into her covers.

Isolde sat by Snow White's bed, looking out the window, seeing the raid of the palace progress.

The door opened slightly and Isolde saw Ravenna peek in the room before closing the door.

An hour later, blood curdling screams filled the night air and Snow didn't even wake up to hear them. Isolde thought that Snow must have been in deep sleep not to hear anything. Soon, the air stank with the stench of the blood of innocents.

* * *

The next morning, Isolde dressed in her usual black and silver attire which she always wore during the reigns of her sister in her other kingdoms. After the battle was over, which was in the wee hours of the morning, Isolde left Snow's chambers to go to her own.

"Pretty as ever," Isolde heard her brother from behind.

"Is it appropriate to call your sisters pretty?" Isolde asked Finn as he came closer.

He shrugged and replied ", I have my reasons. Ravenna is down in the dining hall, waiting for breakfast."

"You might need it. Hope you save the food, you have a niece this time," Isolde told him as she put diamond pins in her hair.

"You always mocked my appetite," Finn replied.

"You had one since nine. Mum would hide the corn bread from you so that the family wouldn't go without," Isolde stated, as she left her chambers for breakfast.

"I wouldn't eat all the corn bread," Finn argued, as he followed her out.

"We should stop bickering or Ravenna would consider us 'children'," Isolde warned Finn.

Finn nodded, knowing that Ravenna can be over critical at times.

* * *

They met their sister at the dining hall, which seemed to change in appearance overnight as the rest of the palace.

"Tired, brother?" Ravenna asked Finn.

He yawned and responded ", I didn't have my sleep till five in the morning."

"You might make up for the sleep if you want. I will free you from your duties," Ravenna told him as they heard light footsteps approach the dining table.

Snow White looked confused as she saw one more individual in the room, but her father was absent.

"Where's papa?" Snow asked Ravenna, as she walked towards her.

Ravenna turned to Snow and her face lit up upon seeing her.

"Good morning, dear," Ravenna greeted Snow, taking her hands, not answering her question. "How did you sleep?"

"Where is papa?" Snow asked again.

Isolde saw Ravenna's expression change to sadness. It looked genuine, but Isolde knew that Ravenna was good at mastering emotions on her face when she didn't feel it.

"My dear, this will be hard for you to hear, but something horrible has happened to your father," Ravenna told Snow White, still looking genuinely sad while feeling otherwise. "Your father died last night. I did not know what happened, but while we were in bed, he started gasping for breath and he collapsed on his side before his heart gave out."

"Papa…" Snow began saying, her voice breaking.

"I'm so sorry, dear," Ravenna told Snow White as she wrapped her arms around Ravenna, crying hard. Isolde saw Finn leave the room, as the air was filled with the sound of tears.

Finn never liked to hear children cry. He considered it taxing. Isolde pegged him a hypocrite for that, as Finn told her earlier that he wouldn't mind being around kids, though she seen him willingly kill innocent children in villages along with their mothers. He soon clarified his statement to her, saying that he wouldn't mind being around kids from nobility and royalty but peasant kids were irksome to him.

"The peasant children are always begging for a miserable shilling or scrap of bread," Finn told her a few years back.

Seeing how Ravenna raided the kingdom overnight, Isolde knew what would happen.

Her sister's reign will be poison, resulting in nature to turn on itself and people turn on each other. The land will die along with hope.

And Isolde knew that Snow White would never be allowed to venture out the gates surrounding the palace grounds.

* * *

**If Ravenna had a sister, she would have her sister keep Snow White distracted while she took the kingdom overnight, which means that Snow White will be in house arrest instead of being locked up in the north tower, but I am not going to have Ravenna be sugar and rainbows to Snow White while raising her. **

**Expect Ravenna to be emotionally abusive to Snow at times while pretending to care for her. Of course, even though Ravenna would say she always wanted a daughter, she is a embittered woman who would be somewhat abusive to any child she will raise. And just because Finn says he doesn't mind kids from nobility, he would still be rough on children.**

**Thoughts?**


End file.
